When I told my father-in-law I was planning to visit Austin for an entire week, his response was, “That’s a really expensive place to visit!” He didn’t even believe me when I told him my entire trip was practically free! So of course imagine my desire to gloat when I did just what I set out to do! I spent 5 days in Austin on a budget of $400!
A lot of people have the misconception that when they travel, they need to spend thousands of dollars. I am here to prove that even as a family of 6, we still were able to visit Austin, Texas for 5 days for practically free!
Tips for Making Any Trip Budget Friendly:
- Book in advance. If you know where you are going book as soon as you can. Booking in advance almost always is cheaper than booking on the day or even a week in advance.
- Camp! Tent camp if you can. We have spent anywhere between $30-$0 for a tent campsite depending on where you stay. On average though I would say we spend around $15 a night to tent camp. Way cheaper than $100 for a hotel!
- Buy passes! This is a HUGE money saver! Passes may not be free, but they will save you hundreds of dollars on activities. Click here for a list of some of my favorite passes!
- Enter into giveaways. Instagram has thousands if not more of giveaways. Sign up for them! It’s not like you will get emails and spam from signing up, and you get things and into places for free!
- Make your own food. I know you are on vacation and you don’t really want to cook, but if you do make your own meals you will have more money for more trips! Win, win! Plus it saves you so much time!
- Visit playgrounds. Have you seen the modern day playgrounds!? They are awesome! Its like an outdoor children’s museum that’s free!
- HIKE! Hiking is almost always a free activity.
- Drive, don’t fly and rent. This obviously depends on your vehicle and distance, but most of the time driving will be cheaper than flying. So if you can drive, don’t fly.
Everything You Need To Make This Trip Budget Friendly:
For this particular itinerary there are 3 things that you will need to have in order to make this trip as cheap as it is. So before you head on your budget-friendly Austin trip, make sure you get these 3 things:
- GetOut Pass– Before you head to Austin, be sure to purchase you Austin/San Antonio GetOut Pass. This pass is a one time payment to get you into over 70+ places for FREE! This pass is essential for you having a budget friendly trip to Austin, Texas. Be sure when you purchase your pass that you use the code WESTXMOM for a discount!!
- Texas State Park Pass– Texas State Parks are incredible and you will not want to miss visiting them! The catch about Texas State Parks though is that you have to pay day passes per person and that adds up real fast. Purchasing the pass will get you free day pass entry to all the Texas State Parks, plus half off camping on your second day camping!
- Follow Sweet Eats Farm on Instagram– One of the activities that we did on this trip was to visit Sweet Eats Farm in Georgetown just north of Austin. If you pay for entry it can be quite pricey. The cool part about this farm though is how often they offer giveaways! Be sure to follow them on Instagram so that you can enter their giveaways to get free tickets to this giant farm!
How Much We Spent On Our Trip To Austin:
Gas: $80
Our Stay: $90
Food: $100
Activities: $94.98
Total: $364.98
Where To Stay?
The first step to having a super cheap trip is to find a great camping spot! Hotels, Airbnb’s, and resorts give you comfort and accessibility, but you are also paying more to get those. Tent camping is always cheapest way to travel, aside from sleeping in a van in the Walmart parking lot!
McKinney Falls State Park is in the perfect location for a trip to Austin, Texas. It is the closest state park to Austin. This beautiful state park is located on the south end of Austin and though you are right by the city, you still feel like you are in the woods.
This state park is so green and lush and was created for the purpose of preserving and showcasing the 2 waterfalls on the property. This is a popular spot in the summer for its unique waterfall swimming scenery.
We loved our time here at McKinney Falls State Park! Our camp site was secluded and well maintained. My kids loved all the trees around that they could climb on. Though usually there are a ton of people at this campground, it still feels like you are alone. The bathrooms are maintained and within walking distance of all campsites.
The waterfall trails are very short and they do get busy, but the benefit of camping is getting some evening swimming in when everyone else is headed either home or back to their hotels. We saw plenty of wildlife while here. Walking down the road I saw tons of snails and every time we drove through the park we saw deer.
It is just the kind of place that every family will enjoy spending time in the great outdoors. So many activities, clean amenities, and just all around beauty.
Location: 5808 McKinney Falls Pkwy, Austin, TX 78744
Hours: 8am-10pm, if you get there late call for the gate code
Admission: with the Texas State Park pass: all you have to pay for is the campsites not the day use fees, 2nd day of camping will be half off. So in total you will spend $90 for 5 days camping.
Without the pass it would cost: $100 for 5 nights camping and $30 per adult for the the 5 day stay, kids 12 and under are FREE
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5 Day Itinerary:
Day 1 Exploring Stonewall, Texas:
On day 1 of we drove in from West Texas so we started our Austin vacation by visiting the small historic town of Stonewall, Texas. We spent the morning driving so by the time we got the Stonewall, we pulled over and had ourselves a little picnic lunch!
The drive through this town is just so beautiful. I don’t drink alcohol, but the hundreds of vineyards in and around this town are simply amazing! So naturally, even as a non-drinker with kids, we still had to stop at at least one of these incredible vineyards. Which led us to the Rhinory!
The Rhinory
The Rhinory was a no brainer for us to stop at with kids. It is free to visit this vineyard and it is themed after the Rhino that lives here. Blake the Rhino is a young Rhino that lives on this property. Literally all the art work, all the statues, and obviously the name of the vineyard is in honor of Rhinos!
As we entered the building, my kids were given free gift bags to enjoy their time here. Inside their bags were Capris Sun and animal crackers with of course cookie Rhinos in the bag. So cute! You can reserve a table for wine tasting if you want, but outside is where you will see Blake the Rhino. You can pay to pet him, but my kids were satisfied just looking at him!
Location: 13112 US-290, Fredericksburg, TX 78624
Hours: daily 11am-5:30pm
Admission: FREE
Eat Homemade Peach Ice Cream
Just down the road from the Rhinory is the actual town of Stonewall, Texas. Fun fact, not only is Stonewall well known for its vineyards, but also its peach orchards. I know, Texas has peaches, who knew!?
There are several peach market stands and sheds throughout the town of Stonewall, but I suggest you stop at Burg’s Corner. This big red barn is filled with all sorts of peach goodies. There are shelves and shelves of peach dressings, peach baked goods, peach salsas, peach ciders, and any other sort of thing you can put peaches in. It is peach heaven full of free samples!
With Texas being as hot as it is, we decided homemade peach ice cream was the cold treat me needed. The ice cream is more of a vanilla flavor with frozen peaches throughout the ice cream. While the ice cream is good, the ice cream sandwich is even better! Peach ice cream sandwiched between two homemade DELICIOUS snickerdoodle cookies! Need I say more!?
Location: 15194 US-290, Stonewall, TX 78671
Hours: Thurs-Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 11am-5pm, Mon 9am-4pm, CLOSED TUES-WED
Price of Ice Cream: around $4-$4.50 for a scoop of ice cream
Hike to a see Bison at a State Park
Normally I go for ice cream after a hike, but it was kinda nice to be refreshed and cooled down before hiking around Stonewall’s state park, Lyndon B. Johnson State Park. Stonewall is where our previous United States president, Lyndon B Johnson called home.
This state park is dedicated to preserving the history of the Johnson family. There is a small museum area to learn about the family’s lifestyle, but the coolest part is hiking to the living farm. The Nature Trail is a short 1.2 mile loop that takes you by several really cool things.
Along this path you can see buffalo, giant beautiful longhorns, and the living farm. Several rangers dress up as people of the time period and it literally is a living farm. There are turkeys, chickens, sheep, and even cows. You can walk through the old houses and old barn. Every now and then rangers teach some kind of skill. It is a really cool way to learn about history, to actually experience it.
Location: 199 Park Road 52, Stonewall, TX 78671
Hours: daily 8:30am-4pm
Admission: FREE
Drive thru Lyndon B Johnson National Historic Site
After walking through history, its time to drive through some as well. Across the street from the state park is the actual ranch of Lyndon B Johnson. This isn’t your normal stop at a museum kinda experience. This is like a drive through museum. From the comfort of your own vehicle you can drive around the most Texas vibing ranch there is.
As you drive through this national property there are several stops you can make to see different aspects of this ranch. There are houses, cemeteries, barns, and even the President’s own plane that you can get out and walk through. The entire drive is just beautiful. Gorgeous red cattle spread out over hills of grass blowing in the wind, under the giant blue skies of Texas. Lyndon B Johnson sure had a little piece of Texas heaven.
Location: 1048 Park Road #49, Stonewall, TX 78671
Hours: daily 9am-5pm
Admission: FREE
Relax by a waterfall
Sometimes its nice to have a short drive to relax a little bit after doing so much. About 32 minutes east of Stonewall is another really cool state park to visit, Pedernales Falls State Park. This gorgeous state park is a busy one so I do suggest you get a day pass reservation to go just in case it gets too busy. It would suck to get turned away from such an incredible state park.
The hike to Pedernales Falls State Park is a short 0.6 mile hike there and back on a relatively flat trail. The trail is mostly flat gravel until you get to the overlook of the falls. You can take in the view and turn around or just go a little bit farther down the stairs to get a closer look of the falls.
When we visited the water was not actually falling, but it was still a really beautiful sight. The falls area is covered in giant rocks with water puddles scattered in the dips in the rock. My kids LOVED climbing the rocks, looking for fish, and of course relaxing on the rocks with their feet in the waters. It is a beautiful place to be and the water color is just and vibrant and incredible green.
After the hike, drive to the picnic area, which is right next to the swimming area. That’s right, pack them swimsuits and go for a dip in the cool water. We brought our griddle and roasted up some hot dogs at the picnic area. This is such a pretty area, and way better scenery then sitting in a restaurant!
Location: 2585 Park Rd 6026, Johnson City, TX 78636
Hours: daily 8am-4:30pm
Admission: with Texas State Park pass: FREE
without pass: $6 per adult, kids 12 and under FREE
Set up Camp at McKinney Falls State Park
For the last leg of the journey, head about an hour into the Austin area to McKinney Falls State Park. All that is left to do for the night is set up your tent, relax in a camping chair, and admire the green scenery and the sound of cicadas.
Day 2 Welcome to Austin, Round Rock, and Georgetown:
Time to officially start exploring Austin, Texas. After a delicious camp breakfast its time to head into the big city itself! Before we left on our trip we researched what places were offering free days and luckily when we were in Austin, Zilker Botanical Gardens was having a free day!
Free Day at Zilker Botanical Gardens
Throughout the year Zilker Botanical Gardens offers free admission days. Free days for the year 2024 are: January 15th, February 19th, March 12th, April 28th, July 14th, September 7th, November 11th, and December 26th. On these days you can enter and explore the gardens without paying admission!
These gardens are simple, yet beautiful. They really emphasize the beauty of native Texas flowers as well as some from other parts of the world. My personal favorite part was the Japanese gardens. I loved the bridges, draping Wisteria flowers, and of course the coy pond. Another reason why I loved this section was the gorgeous views of the city from the top of the bridges.
There wasn’t really a children’s garden, but my kids still enjoyed their time here. They loved finding the dinosaur at the prehistoric garden, walking through the arches of honeysuckles, and hopping on the rock steps through the small creeks.
Location: 2220 Barton Springs Rd, Austin, TX 78746
Hours: Mon-Sat 9am-6pm, CLOSED SUN
Admission: on a free day: FREE
on a regular day: $6 adult, $5 seniors, $3 ages 3-17, ages 2 and under FREE
Dig for Dinosaur Bones at the Austin Nature & Science Center
The garden may not have been the most exciting place for kids, but the Austin Nature & Science Center is! As soon as you walk up to the building you will see the colorful mosaics of snakes and butterflies. Inside the museum you can watch bees working on their hive, crawl through a cave, experiment with magnets, and try different puzzles.
Not only is there a museum at this center, there is also a zoo, water play area, and even a dig area. The zoo area is small with native birds, reptiles, and even a bobcat. As you walk down to the river, there is a developed play area for kids to jump on rocks and splash around in the water.
My kids favorite part though was the dig area! One the other side of a rib cage arch are several giant, and I mean GIANT sand pits. Mixed in these pits are countless brushes, shovels, and sand molders; tools for digging up the giant dinosaur bones that lay below the sandy surface.
Location: 2389 Stratford Dr, Austin, TX 78746
Hours: Mon-Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 12pm-5pm
Admission: FREE
Eat Donuts bigger than your head
I may not be super into eating out on trips, but I do believe everyday deserves a treat. Yesterday was peach ice cream and today is GIANT donuts. Not just donuts that are bigger than your fist, these are donuts that are bigger than your head.
On the northside of Austin, is the town of Round Rock is Round Rock Donuts. You cannot miss trying these delicious giant donuts. One was enough to feed my entire family of 6! Can’t think of a more epic picnic dessert than this!
Location: 106 W Liberty Ave, Round Rock, TX 78664
Hours: daily 4:30am-6:30pm
Price of Donuts: $11.98 for a giant donut
Cuddle baby goats at Sweet Eats Adventure Farm
Okay so this farm is expensive if you have to pay! The thing is they do giveaways ALL the time on their Instagram and that is how we were able to visit for free! Follow them on Facebook, because this is not a place you are going to want to pass up due to price! @sweeteatsfarm
We went figuring that we would only visit for about an hour, we ended up staying 3 hours and still didn’t even get through all of the things to do at this farm! Face painting, pig races, unlimited horse rides, bottle feeding baby goats, hayrides, apple cannon, and the list goes on and on! This farm is so cute and so much fun! Be sure to enter in all of their giveaways so you can go for free too!!
Location: 14400 E State Hwy 29, Georgetown, TX 78626
Hours: daily 9am-6pm
Admission: with giveaway: FREE
without giveaway: online- $19.95 per person, at farm- $23.95
Evening Swim at Lower Falls
Its time to head back to the campground at McKinney Falls State Park for the night. After a campfire dinner, its time for an evening dip in the river. The best part about camping at this state park is that when everyone is leaving to go home, you get the waterfalls practically to yourself!
Swimming at the falls during the day is so crowded, but night is so nice. The sun isn’t blazing down on you, but this is Texas so of course it is still hot. Watching the sun dip behind the falls and hiking back with the fireflies twinkling in the sky is just a magical experience.
Day 3 Day Trip To San Marcos and Wimberly:
Living in West Texas where everything is 2 hours apart from each other, it is SO cool to be somewhere where a new town is only 30 minutes to and hour away! So of course when visiting Austin you need to visit the small outlining towns!
After breakfast its time to drive down to the beautiful water town of San Marcos, Texas. I say water town, because of the gorgeous clear river that the town is built around. First stop the Meadows Center Glass-Bottom Boats!
Ride in the Glass Bottom Boats
So I know that I have been sticking to free things to do, but if you are in San Marcos you cannot pass up this boat tour! It is such a good price for a unique and beautiful experience. You cannot buy your tickets ahead of time, so we got there before they even opened at 9:30am to get a tour and it was a full tour! That is how amazing these boats are!
The boat tour is about 30 minutes long and the guide will explain the history and significance of the town of San Marcos. They will also give great advice about the town and places to go. Throughout the boat ride we looked through the glass bottom to see a variety of fish, Garr, and a ton of turtles (much to my turtle loving little boy’s delight).
Location: 201 San Marcos Springs Dr, San Marcos, TX 78666
Hours: daily 9:30am-4pm
Admission: $12 per adult, $10 per senior, $8 ages 3-12, ages 2 and under FREE
Parking- $3, they are very adamant about paying for your parking!
Stop by the Aquarium
On the Glass Bottom Boat Tour you will float right next to the Meadows Center. This large, old white building isn’t just there for looks! For an amazing view of the river you can go all they way to the top! On the bottom level is actually an aquarium. It is small, but showcases the fishy creatures that dwell in the water.
Location: Spring Lake Hall, 951 Aquarena Springs Dr, San Marcos, TX 78666
Hours: daily 9:30am-5pm
Admission: FREE
Go on a Mermaid Hunt
The water in San Marcos is kinda a big deal, so it just makes sense that the mascots of the town are the mermaids; protectors of water. Throughout this town you will see a variety of mermaid themed art, but the most amazing forms of mermaid art are literally mermaids that are painted.
As you drive through town, you will find 11 painted mermaids. Each mermaid is painted and designed to signify something that makes San Marcos great! We saw mermaids with glass bottom boats on them, some with fish, some with Native American symbols, and even some with mermaid pigs! To learn more and for a map to find all of the mermaids, click here!
Locations: click here for a map
Hours: open 24 hours
Admission: FREE
Play at a Mermaid Playground
One of the mermaids is located in front of a Little Caeser’s so naturally we bought a couple pizza’s and headed to find one of the other mermaids at Children’s Park. In front of this mermaid was a picnic table for us to sit and enjoy our pizza!
Well I should say the adults enjoyed the pizza, my kids couldn’t resist playing on the playground! Pizza or playground, they will always choose playground! I don’t really blame them though, because this was the cutest themed playground I have ever been to!
Mermaids were everywhere! This playground had a play mermaid castle, a play pirate ship, and even play glass bottom boats! How cute is that!? We even saw teenagers playing at this park because it was so fun!
Some of the activities to do at this park is zip line, cat mermaid photo ops, treasure hunt, and even balance on a deck with sea legs! The detail to this park will blow you away!
Location: 205 S CM Allen Pkwy, San Marcos, TX 78666
Hours: daily 6pm-11pm
Admission: FREE
Admire the flowers at a Garden
After the park you still will have a couple more mermaids and end off at the San Marcos Discovery Center. This Discovery Center is only one room so basically there are some taxidermy animals and arts/crafts activities. What makes this center cool is actually the garden surrounding it.
This garden is covered in local plant life and is simply beautiful! There is a small pond, bluebonnet plots, and arches of honey suckles! So beautiful!
Location: 430 Riverside Dr, San Marcos, TX 78666
Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-12pm & 1pm-5pm, CLOSED SAT-SUN
Admission: FREE
Hike to Jacob’s Well Natural Area
My secret to getting nap time in with little kids is taking at least a 30 minute drive halfway through the day. So we took a short drive up to Wimberly, Texas. This is another tiny, yet adorable little town. We drove straight through town to Jacob’s Wells.
The trail is only 0.8 miles there and back, and so easy. Most of the trail is flat across plains, but right before you get to the well, there are some stone stairs. The well is so beautiful and you can get right next to the water!
Location: 1699 Mt Sharp Rd, Wimberley, TX 78676
Hours: daily 8am-6pm
Admission: FREE
Keep a look our for Wimberly’s Painted Boots
Just like San Marcos is covered in painted Mermaids, Wimberly is decorated with painted Boots! There are A LOT more boots then mermaids, so there is no way you will see them all unless you dedicate an entire day to finding them all.
Though you won’t see them all, you will see plenty just driving around town between destinations. Be sure to stop and admire the artwork!
Grab some Ice Cream at an Old West Town
Pioneer Town is like walking through a John Wayne movie! This old western town is just a fun western experience to walk through. You can climb into an old stage coach, admire a house made completely out of bottles, sit on a giant Jackalope, and my favorite enjoy a scoop of ice cream at an old time ice cream parlor.
The small town is located next to the river and a perfect spot to go swimming. Hopefully you have your swimsuits, cause you will not want to miss the chance to cool down in the cold, clear water and escape the Texas heat!
Location: 333 Wayside Dr, Wimberley, TX 78676
Hours: ice cream shop Sun-Tues & Thurs 12pm-6pm, Fri-Sat 11am-8pm, CLOSED WED
Admission: FREE, $1 to sit on the Jackelope, $3-$4 a scoop of ice cream, river access- $15 per person Fri-Sun, $10 per person Mon-Fri, kids 5 and under FREE
Picnic at a Bobcat themed playground
When people travel, they usually look for places that are unique and normally cost money. People will pay tons of money to take their kids to some fancy, crowded Children’s museum and skip out of the real treasures. Playgrounds are not like they used to be! Playgrounds are like free outdoor children’s museums!
In Kyle, Texas there is the most adorable park, La Verde Park. This is like a normal park taken up a notch. There is a splash pad, hammocks to swing in, a field to throw balls in, a sanded volleyball court, and the cutest bobcat themed playground. I mean you literally can crawl up and slide down a giant bobcat! This park is a kids dream and the perfect place to have a picnic and wear the kids out before bedtime!
Location: 3901 Burnham, Kyle, TX 78640
Admission: FREE
Day 4 Jump Between Austin and Round Rock:
Wake up to another beautiful morning at McKinney Falls State Park. Cook yourself up a hearty campers breakfast and pack yourself a lunch, because this is a full day!
Play on Giant Ants at the Children’s Alliance Garden
You ended yesterday at a playground, so it just seems fitting to start your day with another playground. You will want to head to this playground first thing in the morning though, cause it gets busy and parking goes fast.
This is an adorable playground with an incredible view of the city. This city park has a variety of activities for kids of all ages. There are giant ants you can climb on, tunnels you can crawl through, a dig area, giant slides, an incredibly high ropes climbing area, and so SO much more.
Location: 1000 Barton Springs Rd, Austin, TX 78704
Hours: open daily 24 hrs
Parking costs: $3
Take an iconic picture by the Greetings From Austin Mural
Make your own postcard by getting your picture taken in front of the Greetings From Austin Mural. Actually Austin has some extremely well known murals throughout town and if you have time I suggest going on a mural hunt. We did not have enough time for this kind of adventure, so we just stopped real quick to get our iconic mural pic!
Location: 1720 S 1st St, Austin, TX 78704
Walk through a building filled with animals
If you were to ask my mom what was her favorite thing to do in Austin, she would without hesitation tell you the Warren Wildlife Gallery. I have been to museums all over America and nothing can quite compare to this museum.
In this giant building you can walk through all biomes and countries of the world and admire their wildlife. There are hundreds if not thousands of taxidermy animals throughout this museum. I have never seen so many different types of birds and antelope. It is such an incredible thing to witness.
Climb up a tree, down a cave, into a Safari tent, and under the ice to find more and more animals. It is such a incredible gallery of God’s incredible creatures!
Location: 1401 Bouldin Ave, Austin, TX 78704
Hours: 10am-4:30pm, check website for days and times available
Admission: FREE, book before you go
Picnic with Peacocks
Can you imagine a more magical place to have a picnic then shaded under giant trees, surrounded by colorful flowers, and listening to the calls of peacocks!? I have been to multiple gardens in the Austin area and this garden was my absolute favorite!
Mayfield Park and Nature Preserve has a large variety of super colorful flowers and roaming in these flower gardens are gorgeous peacocks. It is such a beautiful park and the perfect place for a picnic.
Location: 3505 W 35th St, Austin, TX 78703
Hours: daily 5am-10pm
Admission: FREE
Play at a Library of Toys
The last 2 activities were more look don’t touch activities, so I think its time to release the kids and let them touch whatever they want. Now the Toybrary was not something I enjoyed, but my kids LOVED it! It kinda reminded me of a daycare that you watch your kids at. Like I said I wasn’t a fan.
My kids however were overwhelmed with all that there was to do! I mean it is literally a library of toys! There were play bikes, play trains, balls of all sorts, stuffed animals, blocks, tents, cars, swings, climbing toys, noisy toys, quiet toys, books, and so on! Just every toy you can think of!
Location: 2001 Justin Ln, Austin, TX 78757
Hours: Tues-Sat 10am-6pm, CLOSED SUN-MON
Admission: with GetOut Pass: FREE
without pass: $12 per kid
Climb through a Large Climbing Gym
Another activity for the kids, though I certainly tried to keep up! Mt Playmore is a children’s amusement center with a variety of activities. You could be here for hours switching between the toddler area, arcade games, and the giant playscape.
We focused our time at the playscape! I chased my kids through a large play gym full of obstacles. We had to climb through tunnels, up climbing walls, balance on a rope bridge, and swing on large balls. I had to give up after a while and go relax in the recliners at the center of the playscape, but my kids played til they were ready to pass out from exhaustion.
Location: 13609 N Interstate Hwy 35, Austin, TX 78753
Hours: Wed-Mon 10am-7pm, CLOSED TUES
Admission: with GetOut Pass: FREE
without pass: $1.99 adults, $12.99 ages 3-15, $7.99 ages 7-36 months, 6 months and under FREE
Feast On Waffles
To keep our trips budget friendly, I do most of the cooking. We have a ton of picnics! Now this is a lot of work on my part, so I do like to take at least one meal on our trip to eat out and treat myself to not cooking and cleaning!
My kids aren’t super picky, but I do like going places that I know they will enjoy just as much as me. Waffles are a guaranteed win for my kids and I am a complete sucker for breakfast food, so you can bet we chose a restaurant with waffles on the menu. Actually at Waffle Love everything on the menu has waffles in it!
I had a delicious Waffle Sandwich, but there were also plenty of other waffle choices. Waffle grilled cheese, Chicken and Waffles, waffle salad, waffle tarts, and just plain old delicious waffles. I guess I shouldn’t say plain ol waffles, cause these waffles come covered in all sorts of fruits, sauces, creams, and treats. It is waffle-licious!
Location: 1300 Gattis School Rd #100, Round Rock, TX 78664
Hours: Mon-Sat 8am-8pm, Sun 8am-2pm
Price range: $5-$13
Build a Free Lego Mini Figurine
Now with a belly full of waffles, you are set to go visit the coolest Lego store in Austin, Texas! Bricks & Minifigs is a restore for Legos and it is so amazing. You walk in to find large Lego sets already created to look like castles, world wonders, and spaceships. It was almost like walking through a Lego museum.
Here comes the fun part though! There is a table set up with 5 sections built into it. In each section are hundreds of different Lego body parts to build your very own Lego mini fig! My kids thought this part was so much fun and they were so proud of their little figurines!
Location: 14010 US-183 Ste 445, Austin, TX 78717
Hours: Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat 10am-6pm,
Admission: FREE admission, with the GetOut Pass: FREE
without the pass: around $2 a minifig
Have an Arcade Night At Epic Fun
This has been a crazy busy day, but you have one more stop before you end the day. Head to Epic Fun for an hour of unlimited arcade games. This Arcade is huge! We were there for an entire hour and we still didn’t get to try every game there was available!
VR games, dancing games, pinball machines, claw machines, racing games, shooting games; you name it and they got it!
Location: 7101 W, State Hwy 71 Suite D, Austin, TX 78735
Hours: daily 11am-12am
Admission: with the GetOut Pass: FREE
without the pass: $29 for a 60min arcade card
Day 5 Spend the Playing in Austin:
You are gonna want to cook up quite the breakfast this morning cause you are about to have a very physical day. Also dress in your swimsuits and pack a change of clothes, cause to start this day, you are headed to the Typhoon Texas waterpark.
Play at the Typhoon Texas Waterpark
Can you believe that you are about to go play at this giant Texas waterpark for FREE!? You will want to get to the waterpark first thing when it opens, because it gets busy! Everybody in Texas wants to be in the water when its hot outside.
There are sections of this waterpark for people of all ages. We mostly stuck to the kids area, my kids loved the giant splash pad, kiddie pool, and mini waterslides. The lazy river surrounded the kids zone. Surrounding that were the larger waterslides more built for adults with an adrenaline addiction. I am terrified of big drops, but my husband LOVES them!
Waterslides, lazy river, kids area, and more. I mean much more! Wave pools, obstacle courses, and more await you for a splash-tastic day at Tyhoon Texas waterpark.
Location: 18500 TX-130 Service Rd, Pflugerville, TX 78660
Hours: check out the website for daily times
Admission: with the GetOut Pass: FREE
without the pass: online $39.99 per person, at gate $44.99 per person,$37.99 under 48″
Pet Stingrays at the Austin Aquarium
I mean you are already wet from playing at the waterpark so why not get a little more wet by petting some stingrays at the Austin Aquarium? Okay well maybe change and stop by DQ for some lunch before heading over.
The Austin Aquarium isn’t your normal aquarium. Instead of just admiring a bunch of fish in fish tanks, this aquarium is filled with a large assortment of animals for you to interact with. Some of the things you can do if you purchase tokens are feed a sloth, hold a lemur, play with a wallaby, feed an octopus, and hang out with a porcupine.
The animal encounters at this aquarium are incredible. Even without purchasing tokens you can still pet a tortoise, pet a stingray, hold a snake, and get manicures from bacteria eating fish.
Location: 13530 US-183 #101, Austin, TX 78750
Hours: Sun-Thurs 10am-7pm, Fri-Sat 10am-8pm
Admission: with GetOut Pass: FREE
without pass: $24.95 adult, $19.95 ages 3-11, $22.95 seniors or military, ages 2 and under FREE
Go around the world in 1 hour
Never have I ever been to such a cute playscape as this one! The theme of Indigo Play gym is the world. As I followed my kids through the play gym, they jumped on the pizzas of Italy, dodged the cactus of Mexico, crawled through the Taj Ma Hall, climbed to the top of a Mayan Temple, stepped around the Eiffel Tower, and of course slide down the American flag.
My kids could have been here all day, and honestly I could have been too! It was the cutest way to educate kids on the world and the beauty of each culture and country.
Location: 13530 Research Blvd, Austin, TX 78750
Hours: Mon-Thurs 9am-7pm, Fri 9am-8pm, Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 11am-6pm
Admission: with the GetOut Pass: FREE, $3 socks
without the pass: $2 adult, $19 ages 2+, $13 ages 6-23 months, 5 months and under FREE, $3 socks
Spend your Last Night Swimming by a Waterfall
Time to head back to the campground to cook up dinner. Also, it is your last night in McKinney Falls State Park, so it just makes sense that you spend your last few hours enjoying its cool waters. Already having swam in Lower Falls earlier in the week it is time to take a dive into the Upper Falls.
Again I suggest doing this in the evening when it is not near as busy. Wading in the water, next to these beautiful falls is such a beautiful way to end your Austin trip. Hope you had as much fun as we did!
Other Free Things To Do In Austin, Texas:
- Walk the grounds of the Texas State Capitol
- Walk through the Cathedral of Junk
- Admire the fish in the Austin Aqua-Dome
- Swim at Campbells Hole
- Admire the cityscape from Lou Neff Point
- Watch the bats fly from the Congress Ave Bridge
- On their free Tuesdays walk through the Blanton Museum of Art
- Find the World’s Largest Longhorn
For a complete bucket list of things to do in the Austin, Texas area; click here.
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